Microsoft takes on the 'free' OS

The company is inching toward offering its Windows Phone operating system gratis in some markets. Does that portend big changes in Microsoft's strategy? A longtime Microsoft analyst weighs in.

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Lego Cubestormer robot solves Rubik's Cube in less time than it takes to read this headline

Until yesterday, the world record for fastest time in solving a Rubik's Cube was 5.27 seconds, which was set in the fall of 2011 by a Lego robot named Cubestormer 2. Thanks to the machine's successor (aptly named Cubestormer 3), the time to beat is now 3.253 seconds. The robot, which is the third in a series of automatons designed solely for the purpose of solving the Rubik's Cube ASAP, is powered by an octa-core Samsung Galaxy S4; it's got four high-performance ARM Cortex-A15 cores and four lower-intensity Cortex-A7 cores running the show, each one managing its own Lego Mindstorms actuator.

Essentially, the phone is responsible for analyzing how the cube is arranged, outlining the steps necessary to solve it, and then instructing the robot what to do. We can't help but wonder how different the end result would be if a high-end Snapdragon, Intel, NVIDIA or Apple chipset had been used, but we'll leave it up to the brilliant minds of designers David Gilday and Mike Dobson to tackle that challenge with the Cubestormer 4 when the time is right. And in case you want a reference point as you watch the video below, the fastest human time is 5.55 seconds. (We'd be happy if we could solve it in less than 10 minutes.)

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Tags: ARM, cubestormer, cubestormer3, exynos, i9500, legocubestormeriii, mobilepostcross, octa-core, rubikscube, samsung, samsunggalaxys4, video Next: Court rules that Pandora won't pay higher royalties to songwriters
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Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer to retire in September, VP of Finance Luca Maestri takes his place

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Moven Takes Its Mobile Banking App Out Of Beta

Moven, a mobile banking service similar in some respects to recently acquired Simple, exited from beta this week, meaning users no longer have to request an invite to sign up for an account. Now publicly available, the company is allowing users to open a bank account directly from their smartphone, which can be funded through external transfers and/or direct deposits.

For background, like Simple, Moven is not a bank itself. Instead, its accounts and associated MasterCard debit card are backed by CBW Bank, an FDIC member based in Kansas.

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Balanced Takes Open Source Product Development To The Next Level With Crowdfunding Campaign

Balanced will be adding a new feature to its arsenal of payments features in the coming months, allowing customers to push payments directly to debit cards. But this product development cycle comes with the support of a number of customers asking for the feature, who are backing the feature with a crowdfunding campaign.

This idea of “open source product development” isn’t exactly new to Balanced: The Y Combinator alum has long depended on customers and partners to help it determine which features it should build into its two-sided payment platform.

Using Github, the team discusses its product cycle and uses community feedback to help it prioritize resources around the development of features that are most requested or could prove most valuable to its clients. That led to the team building out features like the ability to do ACH bank deposits to its platform.

“We advertise ourselves as an open company,” co-founder Jareau Wade told me. “Our code is often open source, and our default is to provide transparency in product development.”

The next step for Balanced in determining demand was to seek crowdfunding for new features through a campaign on Crowdhoster. According to Wade, the money raised isn’t necessarily to fund development, since engineering salaries are largely a sunk cost anyway. Instead, the money is for lifetime support of the feature. And crowdfunding is also a good way to help determine actual customer demand.

When it asked users if they were interested in sending payments to debit cards, there was a groundswell of support. But before it decided to build the feature out, it wanted to determine how many would be willing to pay for the feature, and how much. After all, it’s one thing for customers to say they want a new feature — it’s a whole other thing to set a price.

That’s one lesson that came out of its development of ACH deposits, Wade said, as those who supported the feature via Github weren’t exactly happy with pricing when it was actually released. By having clients prepay to be part the initial beta run of the product, it’s essentially having them put their money where their mouths is and vote on how much volume and which pricing plan makes the most sense.

Since Balanced can’t rip out a feature once it’s been added to the API, the company has to be thoughtful about what it implements and how. While the typical Silicon Valley mantra is to move fast and break things, that’s not a luxury that Balanced has as a payments company.

“We can’t break things, but we still need to move fast,” Wade said. “So we’ve changed that to move fast and make things.”

Those who wish to support the campaign can do so for as little as $25 and get a t-shirt, marketplace customers also have the option of supporting in $1,000, $2,500, and $10,000 blocks, each with a different price per transaction. The $1,000 backers are essentially prepaying for 1,000 transactions, while those who spend $2,500 will be paying $0.75 per transaction. The cost for $10,000 backers goes down to $0.50 per transaction when the feature gets rolled out in May.

Balanced surpassed its $50,000 goal in about a day, with major backing coming from customers like Raise, Wanderable, Crowdtilt, and InstantCab. It’s received money from 24 different backers altogether, but still has several weeks to go in the campaign. With the greenlight from backers, though, it’s ready to move forward with the feature, which it expects to roll out in May.

Balanced has raised $3.4 million from investors that include Andreessen Horowitz, CollabFund, Y Combinator, SV Angel, Brian Chesky, Ashton Kutcher, Yishan Wong, and other angels.

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The Venerable DC-9 Passenger Jet Takes Flight One Last Time

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CES 2014: Sony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with Core

Sony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with Core | News | TechRadar --> Mobile version2014-01-07T10:40:00ZMagsNewsletterRSS FeedsFollow @TechradarA Future Site ▼ TechRadarmobile-phonesSearch the siteSearch term:Log inJoinLog outHomeReviewsPhonesTVsCamerasTabletsCar TechMoreComponentsAVLaptopsComputingNewsOffersToday's OffersTechRadar PhoneStoreRecycle Your MobileiPhone DealsiPad DealsDaily Phone Deal Xbox One TechRadar Pro TrendingCES 2014Xbox OnePlayStation 4iPad AiriPad mini 2Nokia Lumia 1520Nexus 5Windows 8.1HomeNews by technologySony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with CoreSony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with CoreCES 2014 "Could be the tiniest thing Sony has ever made"By Gareth Beavis 7th Jan 2014 | 02:14Comments TweetFitted into your life - and your futureRelated storiesSony debuts new 20MP compactsSony and Netflix team up to offer 4K video streamingSony hints at a 4K-heavy CES 2014

Sony's finally getting on board with the wave of fitness technology – but taking it to an all new level.

The Core is a small chip, able to be worn in a variety of ways, that is tiny enough to slip into the Smartband that Sony is launching to carry it around initially.

Update: Sony has confirmed to TechRadar that the Core won't be available to iOS users at launch, and that it's 'focused' on Android for the time being.

Instead of just tracking your daily steps, this new technology will be able to tell you how long you were walking, running, sleeping and travelling.

But on top of that, the new LifeLog application will give information on when you took pictures, where you took them, what music you were listening to and all the other entertainment you consume, meaning you can "watch your lifestyle played back to you on screen," according to Sony Mobile CEO Kuni Suzuki.

This is your future

If you think that's awesome / creepy, get ready for more: the app will use this information to "help inspire your future with ideas and recommendations". This could be as simple as 'listen to this artist that's like that one you listen to all the time', but could get as freaky as 'hey, it's Tuesday at 4PM. I've detected multiple felines in the area – you like taking pictures of them right?'

Sony is working with developers to create 'new innovation' for an open partnership to spread out the data, as well as launching new hardware that will complement the SmartBand.

Sony clearly has some development to do on this little device, but wants to get it out in the open to show it's active in the area, with Suzuki claiming the brand will give more information in the near future – it probably already knows where you will be.

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0 commentsAdd comment AdvertisementPopular in phone-and-communications right nowLatestMost discussedSony Xperia Z1 Compact vs HTC One Mini vs Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini vs iPhone 5CSony Xperia Z1 Compact release date and price: where can I get it?CES 2014: all the latest news and reviews from the showSony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with CoreSony Xperia Z1 Compact crams in flagship power with a lower priceAsus feels the 'Om,' unveiles Zenfone line of smartphonesAsus Padfone mini is a 4-inch phone and 7-inch tablet in one10 best fitness apps for AndroidBest apps for your new iPad, iPhone, Android tablet and smartphoneSony Xperia Z1 Compact vs HTC One Mini vs Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini vs iPhone 5CSony Xperia Z1 Compact release date and price: where can I get it?CES 2014: all the latest news and reviews from the showSony takes fitness technology to scary new levels with CoreSony Xperia Z1 Compact crams in flagship power with a lower priceAsus feels the 'Om,' unveiles Zenfone line of smartphonesAsus Padfone mini is a 4-inch phone and 7-inch tablet in oneWhat does the Firefox say? Mozilla-based tablets and dual-core phones incomingMicrosoft claims Windows Phone dominance over iPhone in 24 countriesHuawei Ascend Mate 2 4G keeps the size, ups the speed at CESAsus's PadFone X announced at CES, exclusive for the USFirst wireless controller for iPad and iPhone unveiled, on sale nowAlcatel One Touch Idol X+ arrives with eight cores of powerAlcatel goes Pop with new phablet and tabletsQualcomm unveils flashy new camera tech before CESNvidia announces the Tegra K1, a 192-core 'super chip'LG promises innovation as it pushes a flood of new electronicsDavid Cameron's posh boys school blocks Snapchat over sexting fearsTop 4 mobile articles of the week Get marathon fit with your smartphone: starting out In Depth The complete novice

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CES 2014: Epson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensors

Epson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensors | News | TechRadar --> Mobile version2014-01-07T10:40:00ZMagsNewsletterRSS FeedsFollow @TechradarA Future Site ▼ TechRadarTechnology, testedSearch the siteSearch term:Log inJoinLog outHomeReviewsVideosPhonesTabletsCamerasComponentsComputingCar TechNewsDealsBundlesSave on broadband TrendingCES 2014PlayStation 4iPad AiriPad mini 2Nexus 5Windows 8.1Xbox OneThe Tip OffHomeNews by technologyEpson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensorsEpson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensorsCES 2014 In wristband and smart watch formsBy Michael Rougeau 7th Jan 2014 | 03:21Comments TweetYou, too, can look like her with Epson's PS-100 or PS-500Related storiesGoogle to debut new wearable camera tech designed for Helpouts at CESLG Lifeband Touch unveiled at CES 2014Intel promises to demo 'innovative wearables' at CES 2014

Epson, the company famous for printers and projectors (and smart glasses, more recently), is entering the fitness wearables market with the new "Pulsense" line of wrist-mounted devices.

The company announced the Pulsense devices at a pre-CES press conference on January 6.

The line will initially include two devices, both of which will launch in summer 2014: the $129 (about £78, AU$143) PS-100 wristband, and the $199 (about £121, AU$222) PS-500 smart watch.

They monitor wearers' heart rates, activity levels, calorie burn and sleep patterns, and store and track that data.

The four elements

Both Pulsense devices have cloud functions so users can track their fitness data between devices, and Epson also claims these devices have the longest battery life of any comparable devices available.

During the pre-CES presentation Epson describe the four elements it believes are necessary in successful wearables: sensors, mobile applications, data visualization, and "big data," with "analytics and algorithms needed to transform the data into meaningful information."

In other words, the Pulsense devices will track and store your data, give you valuable feedback, and interact with other devices.

One function of that connectivity is that when it fills up with data - after collecting 480 hours of heart rate data, for example - you'll dump that data onto a computer or smartphone so the Pulsense device can keep track over long periods of time without needing a massive amount of internal storage.

They're open source, too, so third-party devs like Digifit and Custom Fit 4 You will be able to have a go at making their own apps for the PS-100 and PS-500.

A history lesson

The company also gave CES attendees a history lesson, making the dubious claim that it invented wearable technology decades ago.

It began with Seiko Epson's Quartz Electronic watch, which the company says was the world's first sports watch. It was released in 1969.

Then, in 1985, Epson release a smart watch called the RC-20, with a 42 x 42 pixel display, a touch interface, and computer connectivity.

So apparently Epson is qualified for this sort of thing.

Good thing, because as a press release revealed, Epson has more smart products that "address the needs of the health, fitness and sports segments" in the works to be announced further on down the road.

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0 commentsAdd comment AdvertisementPopular in portable-devices right nowLatestMost discussedEpson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensorsIntel: implanted in-body devices are 'inevitable and not far away'Monster serves up massive slew of announcements, with a touch of zaninessPebble Steel is a premium smartwatch for the stylish among usRazer Nabu hopes to take on Galaxy Gear and Nike FuelbandLG Lifeband Touch unveiled at CES 2014Corning preps 3D-shaped Gorilla Glass as iWatch rumors persistEpson takes on fitness wearables with Pulsense wrist-worn sensorsIntel: implanted in-body devices are 'inevitable and not far away'Monster serves up massive slew of announcements, with a touch of zaninessPebble Steel is a premium smartwatch for the stylish among usRazer Nabu hopes to take on Galaxy Gear and Nike FuelbandLG Lifeband Touch unveiled at CES 2014Corning preps 3D-shaped Gorilla Glass as iWatch rumors persistIntel promises to demo 'innovative wearables' at CES 2014Apple iWatch said to be facing major production setbacksZTE Grand S II hitches ride to CES, smartwatch and phablet ride shotgunArchos lines up budget smartwatches for CES 2014Google Glass Prescription lenses reportedly priced, due after CES 2014LG Lifeband Touch fitness tracker may be a go soon as render leaksGoogle Play Music subscribers offered All Access to Google GlassGear of the year: TechRadar's top tech from 2013Don't have a Fitbit? There's an iPhone 5S app for thatLG 'G Arch' smartwatch and 'G Health' wellness wristband tipped for MWCGalaxy Gear updated with Twitter, Facebook and Gmail messagesThird time lucky? New Sony SmartWatch may be on the wayNew reviewsRSSLatestTop ratedMost readPreviewed Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 review Unrated TabletsHands on: AMD Project Discovery Tablet review

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